What were you doing when these events happened 911, Munich Olympics, Wallstreet Crash, Hiroshima, First Credit Card, First Man on The Moon, Panam Flight 103, Berlin Wall Came Down

Timelines and Details for the following events 911, Munich Olympics, Wallstreet Crash, Hiroshima, First Credit Card, First Man on The Moon, Panam Flight 103, Berlin Wall Came Down

Wall Street Crash October 29th 1929

Wall Street Crash begins on October 24 "Black Thursday" and continued through October 29, 1929 "Black Tuesday" shares fall by 75%
Wall Street Crash : It started on October 24 "Black Thursday" and continued through October 29, 1929 "Black Tuesday", when share prices on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) collapsed. Shares fell over the 1930's by 75% and it was not until 1954 that shares rose back to the values of 1929 pre-crash.
What were the Causes : The causes were mostly from very high rising share prices which encouraged more people to invest, earlier in 1929 people were borrowing from banks hoping to be able to buy shares and resell at a large enough profit to pay back the loans and make a tidy profit.


What were the Long term Effects : The crash was the start of the great depression across America and the rest of the world many people lost homes, jobs, businesses, and life savings. It was not the only cause of the great depression but could be considered a major trigger, during the booming 20's many people lived beyond their means by borrowing credit for automobiles and furniture and a new lifestyle .
As heavy manufacturing was decimated with no consumers to buy, only after governments around the world put measures in place to put people back to work did things turn round. In America Roosevelt used 3 times the amount of GDP to boost public spending and put more people back to work some of the largest projects undertaken created many thousands of jobs. Roosevelt embarked on an antidote to the depression, launched a $5 billion spending program in the spring of 1938, Between 1933 and 1939, federal expenditure tripled, funded primarily by a growth in the national debt.
What did world Governments and Economists Learn : Economists are much quicker at spotting large increases in consumer spending and borrowing and often use the increase of interest rates to dampen spending habits, also if large drops occur in share prices or currency fluctuations the stock markets can be closed early to provide a breathing space for people to reflect prior to a panic situation, this also provides the government time to look at problems and react.
Could it all happen again : Yes it could all happen again but as it is in most government and the financial industry to prevent it , we hope it will not. We have seen a couple of instances over the last few years where a Government has increased the interest rates much higher very quickly which causes pain to consumers and businesses, but has so far managed to cause a slowdown in the economy in a controlled manner but stopped a complete meltdown, we can only hope this continues to work. October 24th 1929

Nuclear Bomb dropped on Hiroshima

America drops the first ever Nuclear Bomb during World War II on August 6, 1945 Hiroshima, Japan
Hiroshima Nuclear Bomb : United States, Canada and the United Kingdom designed and built the nuclear bombs under the code name the Manhattan Project. On August 6, 1945 the United States Army Air Forces dropped the first nuclear weapon used in war "Little Boy" on the city of Hiroshima, resulting in some 70,000–80,000 immediate deaths.
Why was it dropped : The US had suffered large casualties during the war with Japan and U.S. President Harry S. Truman, made the decision to drop the bombs on Japan. His stated intention in ordering the bombings was to bring about a quick resolution of the war by inflicting destruction, and instilling fear of further destruction, that was sufficient to cause Japan to surrender.
Short Term Effects : The Hiroshima bomb killed an estimated 70,000–80,000 people instantly and a further 10,000 to 20,000 due to illnesses associated with radiation over the next 10 years .
What were the Long term Effects of it's use : The long term effects of it's use are political as much as the casualties in human life. With the worlds major super powers having nuclear weapons many times greater than required for destruction of another countries cities if any power was to release a nuclear bomb or many bombs the other power could still release enough prior to annihilation for mutual destruction of both powers , this has so far managed to stop a further world war as any super power with nuclear capabilities realizes it is a no win situation.
Could it all happen again : Yes it could as more countries learn and understand nuclear technology it would be possible for a small country led by a fanatic or fanatical terrorists to create and drop large scale bombs or even hand size nuclear devices that could devastate a city and kill many millions of innocents, we can only hope that all the worlds leaders both large and small would like our world to continue and they spend more time on looking after and helping those less fortunate with food and medicines than with making war on others.
August 5 1945

First Credit Cards Appear

Bank Of America Creates the Americard which later becomes Visa
First Credit Card : The concept of paying for goods using a card started in 1950 and the main cards available in the United States in the early years were Diners Card and American Express, both required full payment at the end of the month so were only provided to the most financially respected consumers , in 1958 Bank of America created the BankAmericard which later became Visa and in 1966 Master card followed which allowed for payment of a fraction of the credit outstanding with interest charged on the outstanding balance.
Current Facts re: Credit Cards :
USA 144 million credit cards held in 2003
In 1990, average amount in credit card debt was about $2,550 for those households that carried a balance.
In 2003, average amount in credit card debt was about $7,520 – an increase of nearly 200 percent!
UK In the UK 59 million people hold some 67 million credit cards, meaning the average person has more than one credit card.

Changes to our lives through credit cards : Over the years credit card companies have targeted younger and younger consumers at University and straight after leaving school and many of these younger holders have trouble controlling the spending and are facing financial problems early in their lives, and the average consumer is taking more and more credit on. In 1999 — for the first time in about 50 years U.S. households started spending more each month than they took in, not only due to credit cards also due to mortgage debt, student loans and automobile loans.
Where will it end : Currently consumers do not appear to see the financial time bomb ticking away, but eventually we may well see some major changes in consumer habits , it could be caused by an increase in interest rates or a higher percentage of personal bankruptcies causing credit card companies and others to tighten lending criteria, but when it does come as it surly will we may see some changes in shops with deflation and not inflation occurring to keep companies and the economy afloat. Around the world many credit card companies are slowly starting to tighten lending with higher percentage monthly payments and decreasing the amount for lines of credit , also we are seeing a slowdown in the housing market and in the US an increase in the number of home foreclosures which could well be a sign that the amount of credit available is decreasing.

First Man To Walk on The Moon 1960's

On July 21st 1969 America lands man on the Moon and Neil Armstrong becomes the first man to walk on the Moon.
Following 10 years of hard work and the race with the soviets to conquer space On July 21st 1969 America leads the "space race" when they land a man on the Moon and Neil Armstrong becomes the first man in history to walk on the Moon.
Famous words during Moon Walk : As he put his left foot down first Armstrong declared:
"That's one small step for man but one giant leap for mankind."
The Space Race up till then :

Russians

1957:
Sputnik satellite blasts into space
Russians launch dog into space
1958:
Monkey lost after space flight
1959:
Monkeys survive space mission
Soviets launch rocket at the Moon
World glimpses far side of the Moon
Radio telescope makes space history
1961:
Chimp returns safely after space flight
Soviets declare a win in the space race
Russian cosmonaut spends day in space
1963:
Soviets launch first woman into space
1966:
Soviets land probe on Moon
1967:
Russian cosmonaut dies in space crash
Soviets glimpse beneath clouds of Venus

United States

1961
Shepard becomes first US astronaut
Kennedy pledges man on Moon
1962:
American spaceman rounds the world
First US rocket lands on Moon
1965:
Millions watch space probe crash into Moon
Gemini V returns to Earth
1966:
First US space probe lands on Moon
1967:
Three astronauts die in Apollo 1 tragedy
US probe flies by hot and windy Venus
1968:
First astronauts orbit Moon
1969:
Apollo 10 gets bird's eye view of Moon
Apollo 11 takes off for the Moon
Second Apollo mission lands on Moon and Neil Armstrong makes Famous quote "That's one small step for man but one giant leap for mankind."

Where are we now on space exploration : The Moon landing marked the pinnacle of the space race and American investment in the space programme declined . A further 10 astronauts travelled to the moon in another six missions with the final manned lunar landing, Apollo 17, completed in December 1972. since that time man is continuing to explore Space but the missions have not captured the publics imagination in the same way.

1971: American probe orbits Mars
1972: Last Moon mission returns
1976: Pictures of Mars from Viking ship
1979: Skylab tumbles back to Earth
1980: Saturn's rings caught on film
1986: Soviets launch space station Mir
1988: Shuttle blasts US back into space
1989: Voyager spacecraft reaches Neptune
1990: Hubble telescope takes off for space
1990: Magellan starts mapping Venus
1995: US shuttle docks with Russian space station
1997: Mars buggy starts exploring Red Planet
2001: First space tourist blasts off
2003: Columbia shuttle disintegrates killing seven
2003: China sends first man into space
2004: Nasa rover looks for water on Mars
July 21st 1969